WASHINGTON — In remarks ostensibly aimed at combating anti-Semitism, former President Donald Trump questioned why he lacks the compelling support of Jewish voters and suggested that they would have “a lot to do” with a loss in November if their support for his campaign did not grow.
“I’m not going to call this a prediction, but in my opinion, the Jewish people would be in for a big loss if I got to 40 percent,” Trump said at a campaign event titled “Combating Anti-Semitism in America,” citing an anonymous poll he said showed he had two-fifths of Jewish voters behind him.
Trump spent much of his speech telling the audience what his administration has accomplished on behalf of the Israelis, including recognizing the Golan Heights as Israeli territory, withdrawing the US from the Iran nuclear deal and moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
He lamented that despite those milestones, which he described as on behalf of the Jewish people, he had not seen an increase in support from Jewish voters. Trump went on to say that he has not been “treated well” by Jewish voters and, despite being the “most popular person in Israel,” he lamented that their support “doesn’t translate” in the US.
“You can’t let this happen. Forty percent is not acceptable because we have to win the election,” Trump said, blaming the lack of support on what he described as “the Democratic hold or curse” on Jewish voters.
During his speech, he also made a direct appeal to Jewish voters and criticized the protest movement on campuses against Israel’s handling of the war with Hamas.
“My first week back in the Oval Office, my administration will inform every college president that if you do not end the anti-Semitic propaganda, they will lose their accreditation and federal tax credit support,” he said.
Trump’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for further comment on the former president’s remarks.
At another event in the capital on Thursday evening, he warned Jewish voters about using their support in the election.
“If I don’t win this election — and the Jewish people would really have a lot to do with it if that happened, because 40 percent means 60 percent of the people are voting for the enemy — I believe Israel will cease to exist within two years,” Trump said at the second event, the Israel-American Council National Summit.
As Trump continues to reach out to Jewish voters ahead of the November general election, he also continues to openly attack Jewish leaders, such as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.
As in his remarks Thursday night, Trump described Schumer as “like a Palestinian” and in a post on his social media site, Truth Social, he described Shapiro last month as a “very overrated Jewish governor.”
Now that Trump is out of office but still campaigning, he has also extended his appeal to Jewish voters and praised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, hosting him at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida in late July.
Trump’s comments on Thursday reflect his years of frustration with the lack of support for him from Jewish voters (who historically lean Democratic, according to the Pew Research Center). As president, he said that Jewish people who vote Democratic show “either a total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty,” and two weeks before the 2022 midterm elections, he posted on social media: “American Jews need to get their act together and appreciate what they have in Israel — before it’s too late!”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
